“ I had a couple really rough laps there in the middle ,” said Steward . “ On our pit lap , lap four , I went down really hard in front of Layne . At that point , that was kind of the change of the pace . Layne got up front , but he was mixing it up with some lappers , and I was able to get back in with him . Then by the time we got back together , the lappers had just become a major factor in the race . He and I both got stuck in a little rut . Then right after that I think he got hung up again and I passed him . We were both kind of in survival mode .”
“ I finally got into third and was about 45 seconds back from those guys so I dug deep , caught Layne and I was gaining on Stu — gaining on him , gaining on him ,” said Kelley . “ I had to charge so hard there in the middle that I was smoked there with three laps to go . I was staying with him , but that last lap , he definitely had more in the tank for me .”
The second half of the race saw riders push for the elusive passing opportunities , as they made their way to the checkered flag . Coming back from a fourth-place position in the XC2 class behind Rockstar Energy Husqvarna ’ s Craig DeLong , Girroir would work his way through the pack up to a battle with class leader Witkowski on lap six , quickly overtaking the lead going into lap seven . Witkowski would return the favor and trade leads in lap seven . In a last-minute push ,
VOL . 6 ISSUE 6 - JUNE 2021 // PAGE 77